'Jesus, take me home,' inmate says at execution

From gurney, killer proclaims innocence in 1994 killingsConvict admits kidnapping but denies being there for double slaying

ROSANNA RUIZ, Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle

Published 5:30 am, Friday, March 30, 2007

Photo: AP

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This photo provided by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice shows death row inmate Roy Lee Pippin, who was executed Thursday at the Texas prison in Huntsville.

This photo provided by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice shows death row inmate Roy Lee Pippin, who was executed Thursday at the Texas prison in Huntsville.

Photo: AP

'Jesus, take me home,' inmate says at execution

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HUNTSVILLE — In his final moments Thursday, convicted murderer Roy Lee Pippin maintained his innocence, blasting those he said were responsible for his wrongful execution.

"I charge the people of the jury, trial judge, the prosecutor that cheated to get this conviction," Pippin said while strapped to a gurney in Texas' death chamber. "I charge each and every one of you with the murder of an innocent man. You will answer to your maker when you find out you have executed an innocent man."

Pippin, 51, was put to death for the 1994 kidnappings and fatal shootings of Miami cousins Elmer and Fabio Buitrago.

Pippin, a member of a Colombian drug ring, admitted he helped kidnap the men but said he was not present when they were killed. The men were suspected of pocketing almost $2 million from the operation.

In his final statement, Pippin again admitted his role laundering drugs and money.

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"I ask forgiveness for all of the poison I helped bring into the U.S., the country I love," said Pippin, who owned an air-conditioning business in southwest Houston.

He also expressed his love to his family, including his son and daughter, before he concluded with: "That's it. Warden, go ahead and murder me."

As the lethal drugs began to flow at 6:34 p.m., Pippin uttered: "Jesus, take me home."

He was pronounced dead eight minutes later — the second man to be put to death in Texas this week.

Despite his earlier promise to put up a struggle before his execution, Pippin was calm as he was escorted to the chamber.

He had, however, set a fire in his cell Thursday morning by piling trash and connecting a copper coil to an electrical outlet. Officers put out the fire within minutes. It generated smoke but no damage or injuries, a prison spokeswoman said.

Pippen had also been on a six-week hunger strike until Monday.

The execution comes after all his appeals, including last-minute filings that the Supreme Court rejected late Thursday, were exhausted.

In his appeals, Pippin argued that the midtrial discovery that two guns were used in the killings meant he deserved another trial.

A key state witness testified that Pippin had used one gun to shoot the pair. Pippin's defense attorneys argued that the prosecution intentionally withheld evidence.

The prosecutor who tried the case said he learned of the second gun on the day a firearms expert testified.